back from Computers in Libraries 2007

And there was alot of good stuff going on. I didn't have internet access sadly, so no live right there updates, but I can offer some interesting bits, which have hopefully gotten more interesting and focused while being slowly digested for a few days.

The second day really focused on instruction which is what we are talking about, so I will put in a short precis of those first.

The first instruction related session was given by Chad Boeninger from Ohio, (and I'll stop here and give him some props for being so nice) entitled "Dynamic Instructional Content." He covered a goodly number of tools like podcasts, videos, screencasts and other stuff all in 45 minutes.
Some of the stuff that stuck out in my mind (and my insanely written notes) were things like:

• using a blog to teach for a business class
• also putting class assignments in the wiki with helpful links for students (and probably other librarians)
• using a locally hosted wordpress blog to use polls in the blog as an alternative to a clicker, or the meebo me widget embedded in the wiki or a blog page.
  
• The meebo thing was really interesting as a way for shy students to ask questions during a class.
  
• podcasting--discussed good free stuff like audacity and wink
• camstudio (for recording screen captures and things, like camtasia or captivate)
  
• communication tools like Skype, IM, etc
• using bookmarks for classes in del.icio.us
• facebook
  

Also the bits of good advice like:

• software is free like a free kitten.
• learn from failures and success
• try new things and get momentum for buy-in
• try looking at other tools

The next one was given by Meredith Farkas and Michelle Boule, "Learning with Blogs & Wikis".
This session discussed using these tools in the context of an online course for librarians called "Five Weeks to a Social Library".

The main points covered were short definitions of what blogs and wikis were, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and also a short comparison of each in relation to each other (blogs vs. wikis). They also discussed the effect on reflective learning They encouraged everyone to steal this idea! and also offered interesting insights and tips on how to make it work.
The main points I got from this part were: (and this is drawn verbatim from their actual presentation wiki here)

• You don't have to teach this course in five weeks
• You don't have to use the exact same tools
• You don't have to cover the same topics (this would work for most topics!)

• You do need to provide for experiential and reflective learning
• You do need to provide ways for people to have many different conversations about what they're learning
• You do need to use tools that aren't so difficult to learn that they become a barrier
• You do need to be flexible when technology problems arise (they will!)
• You do need to be open about the process and allow criticism from inside and outside the project (if it is public)
• The learning experience needs to be flexible and involve multiple modes of learning (audio & video, synchronous & asynchronous, etc.)

The really cool thing about this particular project is that from what I understand, this was put together by a group of librarians and designed for librarians who wouldn't be able to have access to this sort of training otherwise. The course site is still up and freely available for people to look at.

It's getting late, so I'll continue with this later.......

Another youtube tutorial

another one to add. :)

Find Articles Tutorial

We're in the process of creating online tutorials to help people do research at Alkek Library. Here's a sample:

Find Articles

Devin Zimmerman

RSS workshop date changed to April 24 10-11am

RSS workshop has moved to April 24 from 10 to 11 am, in room 101.

SL buzz meeting

So, I went to my first SL meeting in-world last week. Apart from the disorienting feeling of coming into a meeting cold and having to catch up, there were some unique hazards that don't normally come up during a meeting--like having your avatar slump as if asleep (I've never fallen asleep in a meeting) and also interesting animal avatars lurking nearby and other avatars flying around. I was merely "listening" and so read the conversation intently, although about half of it was somewhat incomprehensible for me.

It's a pretty mindblowing experience though. Information literacy got mentioned fleetingly, though from what I remember it was in the context of finding information on Second Life, in world. (that is how I understood it at least--I don't have the transcript in front of me.) Which, to this mind at least, is a huge jump.

Back from Spring Break! Upcoming Workshop!

And I hope everyone had a very good spring break this year. We're all back to our classes, as the high season for papers approaches.

It also appears to be high season for conferences. It should be quite exciting. I myself am going to Computers in Libraries 2007, and am planning to post while I'm gone. Yours truly also intends to post commentary on some of the Second life happenings for librarians. (What's Second Life?)

So why this sudden surge of interest? As usual, while reading another blog I came across this article: INFORMATION LITERACY IN THE AGE OF AMATEURS How Google and Web 2.0 affect librarians’ support of Information Literacy...........which is a new angle on everything. I am not going to rehash and enumerate every single item in this article--there's plenty of commentary on Web 2.0 and libraries (just go and google it and you'll see). But I will point out that the paper discusses extending IL instruction to include showing students how to access and evaluate information from Blogs, wikis, and other web 2.0 content. This ties into yet another cool ebook that talks about new literacies.

Where am I going with all this? Well..........all this good stuff (and more) is going to end up in some form or another in the upcoming workshop Using Blogs and RSS Feeds for Research April 5 at 10-11am, in room 101.

Alkek Library Podcast 03/07/07

eCommons@TxState